Serpents in Paradise
by horacethepig
Summary: A murder outside the Cobalt Club in New York leads to the discovery of wizards working with muggle drug smugglers. Learning the group is operated from Bermuda, it sounds like a job for the Amazons and for wizard Britain's latest heroine Wonder Witch. The sequel to "Busman's Holiday" and "Runaway Wizengamot".
1. Chapter 1: The Unpleasantness

Rights to Harry Potter are held by JK Rowling. Those to Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, et al to DC Comics/Warner Bros. Rights to Once Upon a Time is held by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Joe 90 is owned by the estates of the late Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, ITC, etc. Rights to other franchises used are owned by: Marvel Comics; NOW Comics/Moonstone Books; the BBC; Susan Cooper; Jim Butcher; Charles Addams; Terrance Dicks; the estates of Ian Fleming, Peter O'Donnell, C.S. Lewis, Malcolm Saville, Enid Blyton, and Anthony Buckeridge; amongst others. This is a non-profit attempt to play with favourite franchises.

New York, Late March 2017

The Cobalt Club was a high-end Gentleman's Club and had been for nearly a century. It was a place where membership was strictly by invitation only. Members included such celebrated individuals as Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Tony Stark, Matt Murdock, the up-and-coming biochemist Peter Parker and media magnate Britt Reid junior and his concert pianist nephew Paul Reid. Why, legend had it that Clark Savage junior and Richard Henry Benson had both been members back in the day. Both men still were members, in remarkable condition for men in their twelfth decades. Of course, they kept to the ultra-private areas alongside Jethro Dumont, Kent Allard, Richard Wentworth and others.

Whilst the Cobalt Club had a number of such areas where the great and the good could meet in private (after all, the adventurers, explorers, psychic researchers, amateur and professional detectives and even the cape and cowl brigade needed a place to share a drink and discuss their exploits), the rest of the club was exactly what it appeared to be. That meant that occasionally members or guests would have too much to drink, tempers would get raised, words would get heated and _unpleasantness_ would result. Normally, the bouncers would be able to cope, but there was also the possibility of some of the senior council _getting involved in matters_. Discretely, of course. The Shadow was an urban legend, as were the Spider and the Green Lama. They obviously did not act as Club Enforcers, because they did not exist.

On this occasion, a burly gentleman was signed in as a guest by one of the members. Somehow, this guest got into an argument with another member. Words were exchanged, the guest threw a few punches and a small brawl erupted. Nothing too serious, it was thought, and the matter was ended with the guest being thrown out. Something the guest gave his opponent, however, had apparently terrified the latter. Then there was the distressing fact that the poor member was shot dead by a man described as being identical to the assailant on leaving the premises…

Finding an inexplicable scrap of paper with a 'hangman' motif on it in the man's left-hand pocket, one of the homicide detectives photocopied it. He then discretely posted the copy and a brief report into the letter box of an apparently abandoned office in a nondescript commercial building. The envelope containing them was then conveyed through an ingenious network of conveyors to the in-tray of Burbank, the communication expert of the Shadow's team of agents.

"Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Kent," rumbled the deep-voice of the bronzed giant in one of the Cobalt Club's more _private_ sections.

"Yes, thanks Kent," echoed the man with the white face and hair, the usual solemn expression on his face.

"No problem, Doc, Richard," the tall dark-haired man with the hawk-like nose responded. "I thought that you would both wish to know about this evidence."

Kent Allard was a former aviator and criminal, who had been taught various secrets by a secret Tibetan monastery. Reformed, he had returned to New York after studying with other masters in various fields that would assist him in his fight against crime. Having _borrowed_ the identity of a lookalike wealthy playboy named Lamont Cranston (the real Cranston _persuaded_ to spend most of his time abroad), he fought crime as the Shadow. He had gathered a large network of agents in many parts of society and used secrets learned from his Tibetan mentors to slow down his ageing to a virtual standstill. He taught these techniques to his closest agents.

Clark Savage junior, the bronzed giant of a man, was one of the finest surgeons around. Brought up by his father to be the scourge of criminals everywhere. He had studied with the Great Detective (as had Kent Allard), Craig Kennedy, Arsene Lupin and many more. After gathering together five top aides he had met escaping from a prison camp in the latter days of World War One, all now near the top of their fields, he set about his crusade after his father's murder. 'Doc' Savage, the Man of Bronze, was a top inventor, criminologist and fighter and could move with a stealth and grace that belied his tall, very muscular form. A cousin, Lord Greystoke, had sent him samples of an _elixir vitae_ he had been given by an African shaman for services rendered. Doc was able to synthesise this and create tablets for his agents and family, plus provide his aristocratic cousin with his own supply of the tablets.

Richard Henry Benson had lost his wife and daughter in a plane crash in the 1920s. The shock had turned his hair and skin so white they were almost colourless. In addition, his face set into a constant solemn expression. Unless of course he used his hands to mould his features as if his face was made of clay. By using dyes and coloured contact lenses he could make himself look like any average-sized man. The one they called the Avenger now fought his own crusade against crime, alongside Justice Inc., his own team of associates. A supply of Sherlock Holmes' 'Royal Jelly' honey ensured Justice Inc. were also remarkably fit, healthy and youthful-looking for super-centenarians.

These were three formidable opponents, then. Evil-doers, beware them teaming up!

"According to my source," Allard continued, "this 'hangman' motif has been cropping up all over the docks, in an area frequented by a new gang of heroin smugglers. They suspect a connection. Police in Detroit and Gotham City have also, apparently, seen traces of both motif and smugglers. Should we contact the Hornets and Bats?"

Doc nodded. He rang a number. "Hello. Is this the headquarters of the Daily Sentinel Media Group, Detroit? … Good. Can I speak to Mr Reid please? …. Yes, I'll hold, thank you… Hi, Britt! … Yes, fine, thanks. And you and Casey? … Is Paul in town? … Good! He might be required for a _sting operation_!"

In Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne had just finished speaking to Doc Savage. He entered the drawing room where Selina, Dick, Barbara and Tim were all present, alongside Alfred and young Mary Grayson. Now two-and-three-quarters, she was a tall, athletic redhead, just like her mother. Jason and Tim were already calling her "Junior Batgirl" in private.

"I've just had a tip-off from Doc about those drug smugglers. To the Batcave, everyone!"

"I'll be a good girl for Uncle Alfred, Mom, Dad," Mary responded automatically.

"I'm sure you will, sweetie," Barbara said, hugging and kissing her daughter, then smiling as Dick took his turn. The husband and wife team then turned to join the others. They all ran into Bruce's study, where Tim promptly adjusted the hands of the antique grandfather clock to say 10:47 and pushed on the face to open the secret door behind it. They then went down the revealed winding staircase to the Batcave, the door closing behind them and the clock resetting itself to the right time.

After entering their respective costume vaults and changing, Batman, Catwoman, Nightwing, Batgirl and Red Robin stood in front of the Batcomputer. "According to Doc, the smugglers seem to be linked to the so-called 'hangmen' – they have murdered someone outside the Cobalt Club.

"Apparently, Doc, Kent and Richard Benson are _taking an interest_."

"Well," Nightwing commented, "I hope for their sakes, Doc or the Avenger catch them. The Shadow's policy on criminals tends to be more _extreme_!"

"Nightwing, Batgirl," Batman ordered, "take the Batcopter to patrol the docks from the air. Red Robin, take the Batboat to patrol the waters. I'll take the Batmobile."

"And I?" purred his fiancée.

"You take a Catcycle to _do some checking_ of the company safe, while I cause a distraction."

"Making the best of my skillset?! I approve." She went over and kissed him thoroughly. "Stay safe, my love!"

At that, Batman climbed into the Batmobile and Selina mounted a cat-themed motorcycle. They drove off towards a section of cave wall. External video cameras showing the road outside clear, part of the 'cliff face' that concealed the Batcave hinged down to form a drawbridge onto the road on the other side of the gorge. The Batmobile and Catcycle went over this drawbridge onto the road, heading into Gotham City at high speed. Batman used a switch on the dashboard to remotely raise the drawbridge back into place. Meanwhile, Nightwing and Batgirl took the monorail to the part of the cave which served as the Batplane and Batcopter hanger and Red Robin the elevator to the underground river where the Batboat was moored.

"Paul, Kono-san," said Britt Reid, "can you look into this gang of smugglers for Doc Savage. We believe they operate from an old fish-processing factory on the Detroit River. They are trying to use it to get their wares to the Western Great Lakes and up into Canada."

They were in Britt's study. In addition to Britt and Paul Reid, there was Kono Kato, Paul's manservant. Diana Reid, the daughter of Britt's late uncle, Britt Reid senior, was also present, as the current District Attorney. Like Frank Scanlon before her, she was always keen to use the Green Hornet to go after the villains the police couldn't touch. Her husband, Britt's manservant and Kono's uncle Hayashi Kato was another of the sextet present, as was Britt's wife Lenore Reid. The latter still answered to 'Casey' after her maiden name of 'Case', even though she had been married to Britt for over forty years.

"Can you offer any advice, Aunt Diana?" Kono Kato asked.

"The smugglers and their 'hangmen' gangster friends are dangerous, Kono-san. You need to be careful in dealing with them.

"I do not need to remind you of the fact the Hornet and his wingman are Detroit's…?"

"Most wanted? No!" Paul interrupted. "Right, Kono, time to get changed into our _working clothes_ to _discuss_ a _share_ in a _company_.

"Let's roll, Kato!"

"Right, boss!"

Richard Henry Benson used his hands to literally shape his face into the image of the mysterious guest to the Cobalt Club. Per the visitors' book, he was a Herbert Jackson from the banks of the Erie Canal.

"They must be trying to get the drugs to Detroit and Canada, maybe ultimately to the West Coast," Allard suggested.

"Probably, Kent," Benson agreed. He finished moulding his face into shape. "There! All I need are a couple of light blue contact lenses, some skin lotion and some dark brunette hair dye."

"It still unnerves me seeing you do that," Allard responded, "and I've seen a _lot_!"

From a corner of the room came the exotic trilling noise Doc Savage produced when concentrating or excited. "I'm going to Jackson's address. Richard, go to the docks. Hopefully, one of his associates will show you in."

"Don't worry Richard. You will be being _shadowed_ …"

Commissioner James Gordon was not entirely surprised to see the familiar shadow over his desk. "I don't suppose you will ever use the door?" he asked rhetorically.

"We've had a tip-off about the 'hangmen' and their drug smugglers, Jim. Keep your men on standby. There should be some _trash_ to collect…"

"Thanks, Batman. I'll keep an eye on the…" He turned around. Batman was gone. "Typical!"

At the Detroit fish-processing factory, a series of explosions opened a large hole in the wall. Suddenly through the hole came a harsh electronic sound as if an angry swarm of wasps was approaching and two bright green beams shone out of the night.

"It's the Hornet!" someone shouted as the Black Beauty came through the hole into the factory. The driver's side doors opened and two figures emerged. The tall stocky form of the Green Hornet emerged from the front and the lithe form of his driver and wingman emerged from the front.

"Someone's being doing a dirty deal in this city," the Hornet noted in the deep commanding tones that replaced Paul Reid's pleasant light baritone, "without paying me my cut. We start at 50 percent."

"That's outrageous!" said the well-dressed man who appeared to be in charge.

"Sixty-forty to me!"

"Now look here, Hornet…"

"Seventy-thirty to me! I do so enjoy these negotiations."

A handful of thugs tried to jump the interlopers. The wingman, however, was his usual efficient self, leaping high into the air and catching two goons under the chins with a booted foot apiece. Punching, leaping, kicking and chopping, he seemed to be in at least ten places at once. Meanwhile, the Hornet was using his gas gun and fists to full effect.

Somebody produced a firearm, another a stick which the duo quickly recognised as a wand. This was confirmed when the Hornet had to dodge a couple of stunners, as his partner had to dodge bullets. The latter, however, simply plucked two anaesthetic-tipped darts from his sleeve and threw one into the arm of his opponent, before turning to hurl the second into the cheek of the Hornet's foe.

Meanwhile, the man in charge, however, had seen that this chaos was inevitable from the second his men had tried to attack the Hornet and his aide. He ran into his office and locked the door behind him. There was no other way in or out, other than a climb out of the window, but he was secure.

The Green Hornet, however, had seen where he went. A blast of sonic energy from the Hornet Sting melted the lock and a high-kick from his wingman brought down the door. Once their last opponent fell to the gas gun, the pair looked around the office. The Hornet Sting proved its worth yet again on the office safe.

"Listen to this, boss! There seems to be some sort of distribution network leading from Latin America to Bermuda and then to the States. Their main centre seems to be in Bermuda."

"Hmm, we'll call the DA's office for an _anonymous tip_. Also, we had better contact MACUSA." He returned to the Black Beauty and used the Carphone to dial an old friend. "Wednesday? … Yes, fine thanks … We are looking into drug smugglers, at least one of whom is a wizard … Yes, your expertise would be most welcome…"

Meanwhile, Kono Kato had just finished binding the drug smugglers. "All done, boss!" he noted.

"Thanks," the Hornet responded, finding and picking up a couple of briefcases full of cash. "We'll take these." He then dropped a yellow circle of card, with a green hornet painted on it, similar to the one on his domino mask.

Suddenly, a tall, pale-skinned, dark-haired woman in a Gothic-style dress appeared out of nowhere. "Hello, boys," she purred. "You said there was at least one wizard?"

"Two," Kono told her. "I found a wand on this one and that one actually used his to try and stun us!"

Wednesday nodded. She shackled the wrists and ankles the two wizards. " _Portus! Portus!_ " With a tap of her wand to each set of handcuffs, she portkeyed them away. "There! Straight to holding cells at the MACUSA Auror department. Good to see you both again."

"You too!" the mock-gangsters chorused as she apparated away.

The Green Hornet and his associate returned to the Black Beauty.

"The local drug-addiction clinic is to get a large anonymous donation tomorrow," the Hornet noted. "Now to call Aunt Diana and arrange for the police to take the bad guys into custody.

"Home, Kono-san."

"Right, Paul!"

Batman arrived in the Batmobile at another disused fish processing factory, this time at the Gotham Docks. He nodded at Catwoman, who had parked the Catcycle in a nearby back alley. She was stood on a wall, ready to climb into the factory once he had caused a distraction.

The Dark Knight promptly reached into his utility belt and pulled out a lock pick. Seconds later, he was inside. He promptly hurled a flashbang grenade into the midst of the smugglers. By the time they had recovered from their surprise, five of their number had fallen to the fists and feet of their foe.

Hearing the chaos, Catwoman slipped in through an upstairs window. Finding what appeared to be the main office and, once she had used her whip to knock out the occupant, she located a safe. Using a safe-cracking device of her fiancé's devising, she opened the safe and _confiscated_ the contents.

As she slipped out, she saw one smuggler fall to a batarang and a gangster fall to a flying tackle from Batman. Also, a form on a rope ladder smashed through a skylight. Batgirl lowered her husband down into the factory from the Batcopter. Nightwing dropped from the ladder, landed a foot apiece on a couple of gangsters and fell into a forward roll that knocked out two more. Rising, he pulled a tear gas cartridge from his utility belt and flung it into the mob. Meanwhile, his adoptive father was head-butting one foe whilst hurling a set of bolas into the path of another, bringing him down to the ground. Catwoman smiled as she used her whip to launch herself out of a window straight onto the Catcycle's saddle. The Bat-family's capacity for causing mayhem amongst criminals was undimmed. Replacing her whip in her utility belt, she started her vehicle and sped back off towards the Batcave.

Meanwhile, a couple of smugglers produced wands and started to cast curses at the Dynamic Duo. As they ducked behind machinery, Batman used the communicator in his cowl. "Batgirl," he growled quietly, "contact Zee and ask for assistance! There are wizards present."

A raven-haired woman in a white blouse, black fishnet stockings, shorts, tuxedo and bowtie Apparated in. "Roolf eht otni knis!" she cried. "Eci otni ria!" As she spoke, one wizard sank down into the floor up to his waist, the other found his legs encased in ice. Batarangs from Batman and Nightwing knocked their wands out of their hands. Zee quickly put handcuffs on them and portkeyed them to the holding cells at the Auror department.

Meanwhile, Batman and Nightwing started binding and frisking their other captives. None appeared to be carrying wands and Zee Apparated into the Batcopter, in case any escaping felons turned out to be wizards.

Smugglers and gangsters started to flee the chaos. Some tried to flee on foot, but found themselves in the beam of a searchlight from the Batcopter, with Batgirl firing large teargas canisters to disrupt their progress. Others tried to leave by boat, but a Bat-themed submersible surfaced and reconfigured into a trimaran. Seeing the Batboat appear quickly discouraged any thoughts of escape by water. A couple of the 'hangmen' tried to escape by car, but Batman produced a remote control from his utility belt and summoned the Batmobile. He and Nightwing boarded the car and gave chase. Since Batgirl had left an _anonymous tip-off_ with the GCPD, the bad guys quickly found themselves hemmed in by a police roadblock on one side and the Batmobile on another. Surrender was inevitable!

Benson observed the actions and speech patterns of Jackson. "I can copy him sufficiently to fool his mother!" he assured Allard and Doc.

Doc nodded. He produced a small vial from a hidden pocket, then, with a remarkably quiet tread for such a giant, crept up behind Jackson as he walked back towards his apartment. The Man of Bronze grabbed his quarry around the waist, whilst using his free hand to shatter the vial under Jackson's nose, sending him to sleep in seconds. "He should be out of it for some time," he announced, binding the sleeping gangster. "I'll arrange for the police to know that they can pick up the Cobalt Club Killer."

"Thanks, Doc," Benson responded. He lightened his voice to sound more like Jackson. "Now, to seek out his friends!"

Allard pulled a black cloak tighter around his body and raised a red scarf to cover his lower face. Once he had lowered the broad brimmed hat so that all you could see of his face was the hawk nose and the cold grey eyes, he seemed to, well, _vanish_. All you could see was a distinctive shadow on the wall behind him, then nothing at all.

Doc, meanwhile, vanished into a parallel back alley. He used fire escapes, balconies, flat roofs and other back alleys to move quickly and quietly to the disused fish packing factory on the New York docks where the 'hangmen' and their _importers_ were believed to operate out of.

Benson as Jackson arrived there openly. He arrived at the same time as others entering the premises, copying the body language and imitating the voice of the one whose appearance he was following. Seeing clear evidence of narcotics smuggling, he pressed a concealed button on his watch.

Outside the building, a shadow seemed to swoop out of the darkness and knock a couple of smokers senseless before they could sound the alarm. The Shadow found his way to what appeared to be the main office, knocked out the opponent with a quick _la savate_ move and used a safe-cracking device of Doc's invention to _acquire_ the contents.

Meanwhile, a bronzed giant burst through a window into the factory, setting off every alarm in the place. He carried no firearm, trusting in his phenomenal strength and skills to deal with his foes. A twist of a smuggler's wrist broke the arm, a jab to the temple laid a second unconscious and a kick to the back of the right knee had a third writhing in agony on the floor. He wore bulletproof metal-alloy underwear of his own devising and a metal skullcap with a wig identical to his close-cropped hair, as bronzed as his skin. Benson wore similar underwear and a metal skullcap of his own.

One smuggler produced a wand and a gangster a machinegun. Benson reacted quickly, producing two items from their accustomed places strapped to his thighs. The first was a slim bluish tube that was a silenced .22 calibre pistol he had dubbed "Mike" and the second a hollow-hilted throwing dagger he called "Ike". Within seconds, the wizard was yelling in pain, his wand falling to the floor once Ike had impaled his wrist. The gunman meanwhile had collapsed unconscious, Benson having used his favourite trick of aiming Mike so that he _creased_ the top of his foe's skull. Any victim would feel as if their skull had been smashed open and invariably be knocked out, but never killed. Like Doc, Benson preferred not to kill unless necessary.

By now, the gangsters and smugglers had turned to "Jackson". Benson wiped off the dye and face make-up, removed the coloured contacts and remoulded his features back into the immobile solemn granite-hard pale white face of the Avenger.

"Doc Savage and the Avenger!" one smuggler cried. "Could this day get any worse?" Mocking harsh laughter broke out from another part of the room. They all turned, but saw nothing but the shadow of a tall man wrapped in a cloak and wearing a slouch hat. "Sorry I asked!"

Allard did not share his friends' distaste for killing. Whilst not a borderline psychopath like the Spider, he felt the appropriate response to his prey to be twin .45s, used to kill, not to stun. Drawing the two pearl-handled firearms, he dealt death to the more heavily armed opponents, leaving Doc and Benson to deal with the simpler prey. Another two wizards fell, one _creased_ with a bullet from Mike, the other ruthlessly gunned down by the Shadow.

Eventually, a powerful left hook from Doc laid the last opponent out cold. The three titans gathered together. "You don't have to be quite so lethal," Doc complained to the Shadow.

"If you wish to take the others down to your facility…" the Shadow countered, referring to "the Crime College" in upstate New York, where a team of neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, therapists and others were employed by Doc to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens.

"Gentlemen!" interjected the Avenger. "Let's contact MACUSA about the wizards, have the others taken to Doc's sanatorium and then regroup at the Club?"

A few hours later, Doc, Allard and Benson were gathered back at the Cobalt Club. The Bat-family were skyped in from Gotham City and the Hornets from Detroit.

"So all these operations had wizard support?" Britt Reid clarified. "MACUSA must be highly concerned that wizards are openly involved in no-maj narcotics smuggling."

"Also, the hub appears to be in Bermuda," Bruce Wayne agreed. "I'll contact Diana. Themyscira is in the Bermuda Triangle, after all.

"We must contact UNCLE, SHIELD, Nemesis and the W.I.N. too. They might wish to get their agents involved."

"Agreed," Doc finished. "The US divisions are effectively smashed. Time to cut off the head of the snake!"


	2. Chapter 2: Muster Roll

Metropolis Late March 2017

"Finally!" Lois Lane exulted. "I was beginning to wonder if Lara would ever go to sleep!"

"Well, she's happily snoring now," Clark Kent assured her.

"The advantages of meta-human spouses!" Lois noted. "Diana and you can hear her cry in the night and go to her quickly." Since Lara Lane-Prince-Kent was only a month or so shy of her first birthday, she no longer needed breast-feeding and Clark and Diana could do everything their wife could with their daughter.

"Well, she's off now," Diana agreed. "Why don't we turn in for…"

"We need to talk!" interrupted the familiar deep growl of Batman. The Dark Knight entered through the bay window, replacing a lock pick in his utility belt.

"Have you ever heard of a doorbell?" Clark enquired of his friend. "Or even a telephone?!"

Batman glared at his friends. "The other night, a three-pronged assault on a drug smuggling ring by Doc, Richard and Kent in New York, the Hornets in Detroit and us in Gotham revealed that they were employing wizards. MACUSA has the captured wizards in custody.

"Records in all three cities, however, show that the drugs are being imported from Latin America via Bermuda. The latter is the site of their main headquarters.

"Since Themyscira is in the Bermuda Triangle…"

"You want us to look into it?" Diana clarified. "That should be possible. I'll contact the Potters. If we are going to be fighting wizards, we'll need Wonder Witch!"

"Harry is a good wizard to have on hand also," Batman agreed. "Can you contact the usual agencies via the IADC, Diana? SHIELD, UNCLE, the W.I.N. and so on? We might be needing their assistance.

"I'll put the Batplane on standby for a flight to Bermuda."

"Thank you Br…" Clark looked up and saw Batman had vanished. He exchanged pointed looks with his wives. _He'll never change!_

The following morning, Diana was briefing Steve Trevor IV, the director of the Inter-Agency Defence Command, about what Batman had told her the previous evening. "Do you know anything further, Ira?" she asked.

Unlike the original she had worked with in the 1970s, the Information Retrieval Associative Computer Mark II was compact and looked like a computer. "Good morning, Diana," it replied in its electronic tones. "The smuggling ring in question is a subject of interest to UNCLE and apparently of that gang of vigilantes in New York…"

"Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage and their friends?" Diana asked.

"No, the ones who dealt with the so-called "HR" organisation of corrupt New York police officers. To continue, the smugglers and their United States distributors, the gangsters known as the 'hangmen', were subject to a three-pronged attack in New York, Detroit and Gotham City. The Gotham City Police Department reports state that Batman and his team were involved and the Detroit police were given an anonymous tip-off via the District Attorney's office, clearly supplied by the Green Hornet. There are reports of the Shadow, the Avenger and Doctor Savage being involved in the raid in New York.

"Records from the fish-packing plants that served as their main base appear to have 'gone missing'. Wonder Woman may be able to ask her friends for them.

"Early interviews the police have made with those arrested indicate that the drugs were collected by the smugglers from Castle Harbour, Bermuda, concealed in frozen fish. They were taken to Bermuda from Latin America, but it is unknown how or when."

"Thank you, Ira," Steve said. "I suppose you will be off to Bermuda, Diana? If so, take Rover II with you."

"I will do, Steve. There were wizards among the captured smugglers, so I'll contact some friends first. Oh, and I'll contact W.I.N. London too. I have a plan in mind…"

"James will be back home for the Easter Holidays shortly," Harry Potter noted. "Any plans?"

"Well, love," Ginny replied, "I was thinking that some of us could go away for a few days. Us two, the kids, Millie and Pansy, maybe Ron, Hermione, Rose and Hugo…"

Millicent Bulstrode had been "blood-rite adopted" as a sister by Harry at Christmas after she had helped defeat a plot by Nott and Zabini she and Pansy had been bullied into helping. The two of them had been taken to Themyscira along with Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis to recover from the long history of bullying Millie, Pansy and Tracy (and in the latter two cases even rape) they had received at the hands of Zabini, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle ever since the Carrows' reign of terror at Hogwarts. There the two women had fallen in love and had subsequently married. In addition, Millie had been chosen by the Six Goddesses as wizard Britain's very own superheroine Wonder Witch.

Millie, however, was rubbing her forehead. "Sorry, Ginny, incoming call!" She got up and span herself into Wonder Witch. Clad in black armour and skirt from décolletage to mid-thigh, black knee-high boots, golden tiara and golden bracelets from wrists to elbows and with a bronzed hoplon on her back, her tall muscular form flattered to perfection. With her long jet-black hair and bronzed skin, Wonder Witch was a vision of loveliness, giving Millie plenty of satisfaction after so many years of being called fat. The armour and skirt were decorated with white astrological and other magical symbols and the tiara bore a Caduceus symbol. A Caduceus wand hung in her golden magic belt, as did a lasso and a sword in a scabbard. Wonder Witch turned to face a mirror and rubbed the Caduceus symbol on her tiara. The face of Wonder Woman appeared in the mirror.

"Millie, Pansy, Harry, Ginny," Wonder Woman said, "it is good to see you all again."

"Likewise, Diana," Ginny replied, "but you would be skyping us if this was just a social call. I assume you require Wonder Witch?"

"Yes, Ginny, although the rest of you would be helpful. We are looking into a gang of drug smugglers based in Bermuda. They are known, from actions against them and their distributors in the States, to employ wizards. Wednesday and Zee have handed a couple apiece into MACUSA custody a couple of nights back. I was hoping that you may be of assistance.

"We had a yacht called the _Nike_ built for operations in the Caribbean in summer 2015, currently based in Culver Bay, Dorset. A party of children and teenagers being shown how to sail, swim, scuba dive and the like by responsible adults should be a cover for our investigations.

"Would you like to join us?"

"Well," Pansy commented, "we were just making plans to go away somewhere in the Easter Holidays in a couple of weeks. Harry and Millie can help you, whilst Ginny and I look after the kids and top up our tans.

"Hopefully, there is sufficient free time for me to ogle at Millie's beach body too!"

"Aw," Wonder Witch said before kissing her wife very thoroughly. "I love it when the Missus talks like that. And she looks sexy in a bikini…"

"Well, Diana," Harry concluded, as Wonder Witch and Pansy were clearly going to be using their lips for another purpose for quite some time, "See you at our rendezvous point. Give our love to Lois and Clark."

"Will do, Harry. I'll arrange for the _Nike_ to stop at Potter Island. You can Apparate there." Millie and Pansy had been given the island in the Bermuda Triangle as a wedding present by the Six Goddesses. Since they had been disowned from their families and Millie had been adopted as Harry's sister, the couple had taken the surname Potter. They lived in a converted flat in the attic of 12 Grimmauld Place and were seen as very much part of the family. Millie worked as the Auror Department's archivist and Pansy as Ginny's PA.

"Will do, Diana. See you there. We'll arrange details nearer the time."

After the "call" had ended with an exchange of goodnights, Ginny turned to her family. "Why would wizards work with muggle drug smugglers?"

Pansy shrugged. "Some pureblood supremacist factions work with muggle criminals to generate _extra capital_ , as it were. Maybe this is a case of that?"

"Very possibly, Pansy," Harry agreed. "Maybe some muggle-born wizards hail from the families who run the smugglers? We know that the likes of Ra's Al-Ghul and Fu Manchu recruit wizards. Could one of them be involved?

"I'll ask Wednesday for more details once MACUSA's Auror Division have had a chance to speak to the wizards

It was not a surprise to see Sam Loover of the World Intelligence Network turn up at Professor Ian McClaine's thatched cottage at Culver Bay, Dorset. Sam and "Mac" were old friends. Mac's adopted son Joe even called his father's old friend "Uncle Sam". Of course, most of Mac's few neighbours were entirely unaware that Sam worked for the W.I.N. or that he acted as the handler for the organisation's Most Special Agent, codenamed 'Joe 90'.

"What have you got for me today, Uncle Sam?!" Joe asked. He was being home-schooled these days. As his friend Alex Rider had told him, saving the free world on a regular basis got in the way of having a standard education! One advantage of living next door to Georgina "George" Kirrin was that she was able to activate the roster of fellow former young detectives, journalists and others who were recruited by the Crown for secret work. In the same way the 'Cousins' at Langley used the now long-since grown-up Hardys, Nancy Drew, Danas, Trixie Belden, Cherry Ames, Three Investigators, Penny Parker and their ilk, Thames House and Vauxhall Cross used the equally grown-up Lone Pine Club, Famous Five, Secret Seven and so on. George had asked Jon Warrender, 'Jigger' Johnson, Rex Milligan, David and Richard Morton and many more to join her in ensuring that Joe was thoroughly schooled in both arts and sciences. In addition, Sam had arranged for the likes of James Bond, Emma Peel, Harry Palmer and Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin to provide training in skills to ensure Joe could stay alive even if he lost his 'glasses' and thus his connection to the brain patterns of an expert in the relevant field.

"Drug smugglers, Joe!" Sam replied. "Prepare the B.I.G.R.A.T. to grant Joe access to James Bond's brain-patterns, Mac. Then we are to take the _Nike_ to Bermuda via Themyscira and Potter Island."

"So, Uncle Sam," Joe asked hopefully, "does that mean…"

"Yes, Chloe's coming!" She was Joe's Amazonian girlfriend. They had got together at 12 and, at almost 14, had been an item for over 18 months.

"I don't know," Mac chuckled, "kissing on company time…"

" _Dad!_ " Joe 90 may be a superspy, but that didn't mean he wasn't still mortified by parental teasing.

About half-an-hour later, the Rat Trap opened and the chair was levered out. Joe's glasses now gave him access to James Bond's brain-patterns and with them his memories and skills. Agent 007 was not only familiar with the Atlantic islands and the East Coast of North America, but had fought narcotics smugglers over much of the world.

"Here we go again!" Mac sighed, as Sam handed Joe the briefcase with the concealed compartments for his automatic, silencer, spare cartridges, communicator, spare glasses and W.I.N. identity badge.

The large boathouse which housed the _Nike_ was in the harbour below the cliff on which the cottage was built. Specially built by the W.I.N. and the IADC, the yacht had a carport big enough to hold both Mac's Jet Air Car and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, with the main deck's swimming pool designed to retract under the rest of the deck should VTOL access be required. There were a number of cabins, a small laboratory and a sizeable control room for the motors. There were two concealed airlocks, one to allow divers to exit via hatch in the base, the second to allow the mini-sub _Poseidon_ egress. Kono Kato had designed a version of the aerial scout used for the Black Beauty's Hornet Scanner that was hidden in a secret compartment under the top deck. Finally, there were an array of concealed defence mechanisms, including torpedo tubes, mine and depth charge launchers, machine guns and surface-to-air missiles.

Mac started the engine, whilst Joe reached under the main dashboard and flicked a concealed switch. Various panels on the walls slid back to reveal extra control panels. These were the weapons console, the controls for the airlocks and a secure communications array. Joe went over to the latter, where he pressed a button with a bat-in-flight motif on it. "Joe 90 calling Batman, Joe 90…"

"I hear you, Joe!" came the familiar deep growl over the speakers.

"We are about to cast off in the _Nike_. Our ETA in Themyscira is in about a week-and-a-half. Are you going to be on standby?"

"Of course, Joe! The Batplane is on standby for a flight to Bermuda. Batman over and out!"

"As talkative as ever, isn't he?!" Mac commented.

"Small talk isn't his strong point!" Joe agreed.

By this time, Sam had cast off and Mac was able to steer the boat out into Culver Bay, past Kirrin Island and headed out alongside the Jurassic Coast.

Themyscira, early April 2017

Princess Athena of Themyscira was enjoying her walk in the magnificent gardens of her grandmother's palace. Queen Hippolyta was a woman of taste and every aspect of both palace and grounds testified to said taste.

The princess herself was the daughter of Hippolyta's middle daughter, Drusilla, and one of the Innes of Pellucidar. Tall with long jet-black hair and now rapidly developing curves, she was clearly taking after her mother, grandmother and aunts. Her lessons over for the day, she was planning to meet up with her best friends Sappho and Chloe. Then the next day would see her boyfriend Reuben Morton's school back in London break-up. Tall, dark and swarthy, he took after the maternal grandfather he was named after. As befitting a child of Richard and Fenella Morton, he was an active member of the Lone Pine Club, as was she. "Always be true to each other whatever happens" was a sentiment shared by Lone Piners and Amazons alike!

Athena was not surprised to find Sappho seated by the permanent portal to Storybrooke, Maine. After Ra's Al-Ghul and his daughter Talia had nearly caused a war between Themyscira and Storybrooke, Hippolyta had become close friends with Regina Mills, as had Athena with Henry, Grace Jefferson and the Zimmer twins. As Sappho was Grace's girlfriend of over 18 months, seeing her by the portal was a regular occurrence. Meanwhile, Chloe (who at not quite fourteen was about three years younger than the other two girls) was on a tablet skyping Joe aboard the _Nike_.

After warmly embracing her friends, Athena smiled. "Just think girls! In a few days' time, the three of us will be on the _Nike_ with our loved ones."

"Yes," Sappho agreed. "It's a shame Henry and Ava are going to be busy helping his Moms organise a formal ball, although we should see them later on. Nicholas is spending any free time with Louise in London." Louise Webster was the daughter of Jeff Webster and his wife Liz Spencer, both of the Baker Street Irregulars, another group of former child detectives. She had begun dating Nicholas 'Hansel' Zimmer during the same unofficial diplomatic visit by Storybrooke and Themyscira that had brought Athena and Reuben together.

"Well," Chloe said practically, "we should still enjoy our holiday. Apart from hoping my boyfriend lives long enough to make me Mrs Joseph McClaine…"

A couple of days later, the _Nike_ sailed into Themyscira's main harbour. Since the three-man crew were all "Blessed of the Goddesses", they could set foot on the island. Once Joe and Chloe had shared a quick kiss, they were taken to the Royal Palace. Queen Hippolyta greeted them warmly. "Diana, Lois, Clark and little Lara will be coming with you, as will Donna, Roy and Kara." Donna Troy was Hippolyta's youngest daughter, the second Wonder Girl (Drusilla had briefly acted as Wonder Girl in World War Two) and currently the superheroine Troia. Roy Harper was her long-term boyfriend and the masked vigilante Arsenal (and previously the Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy). Kara Zor-El, or to give her Earth name Kara Danvers, was Superman's cousin Supergirl.

"Are you not coming, Mother?" Clark asked.

"Not this time, although there is a portal installed in the torpedo bay, should I need to use it."

After a quick feast, the _Nike_ sailed off to Potter Island to pick up Harry, Ginny, Millie, Pansy and the children. That done, they launched for the short voyage to Bermuda.


	3. Chapter 3: Speculations and Sight-Seeing

"The Poseidon is on board, of course," Sam debriefed at breakfast the next day, "and the Jet Air Car is in the carport. Diana landed the Invisible Jet in the carport yesterday. So we have land, air and even underwater vehicles available if needed. We are fully armed, too."

"Did Wednesday ever tell you why wizards were working with drug smugglers, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"From the ones they have captured and interviewed," her husband answered, "apparently one of the unseen backers is supposed to be a wizard. Apparently, there is a small wizard branch of one of the families involved. Sadly, we don't have a name, nationality or physical description.

"The smugglers have tended to recruit some wizards, largely muggle-born and with links to the island chain. There seem to be very few pureblood supremacists, likely to be due to the lack of a wizard community there. Whilst Bermuda is technically under the control of the Ministry of Magic as a British Overseas Territory, there are only a couple of officials here and no Aurors to speak of. As a result, any wizards or witches who either move or return there after their time at Hogwarts, Ilvermorny or wherever might fall off the grid. Wednesday and Zee noted some wards around the Detroit and Gotham bases that made magic inside hard to detect. If there are any on their premises in Bermuda, the chances of any magic use being detected would be negligible.

"Apparently, an unexplained death in Bermuda would only be tested for magical cause if there was a probable magical link. If the casting of a killing curse went undetected, the corpse would probably be only given a muggle autopsy, particularly if the victim was a muggle."

"Perhaps we should ask about any significant numbers of unexplained, even apparently inexplicable, deaths over the last few years?" Sam suggested. "A large number in one or two areas could give us clues as to where to search."

"That sounds reasonable," Diana agreed. "Rover?"

Rover II was more obviously 'canine' than the original Diana had worked with in the 1970s. It still, however, spoke in high-pitched electronic tones. "Diana, satellite link to IRAC II established. Analysing mysterious deaths in Bermuda over last five years.

"There have been mysterious deaths in the vicinities of Ferry Reach and the L.F. Wade International Airport, both close to or on Castle Harbour. Most of the islands around the harbour are uninhabited, so too small a population sample for a statistically significant analysis.

"According to the wizards in custody, Castle Harbour is where the smugglers are supplied with their cargoes. Possible link?"

"Thank you Rover." Diana smiled. "Time to top up our tans!"

Athena was snuggled up to Reuben on a sun lounger, having just finished a particularly intense kissing session. _He looks hot in those swim shorts! Well, from the way he keeps kissing me, I guess he likes me in my bikini!_

On another sunbed, Grace and Sappho were locked together at the lips. The Potter children were in the pool, supervised by their parents and Millie. Pansy was sunbathing on another lounger, whilst on another Roy and Donna were following Grace and Sappho's example. Lois was cradling Lara, whilst Diana, Clark and Kara were in the pool. Mac and Sam were in the control room ensuring they were still on course for Bermuda.

Joe, meanwhile, was cuddling Chloe on another sunbed. He kissed her softly, when suddenly he broke off. "Everything OK, Joe?" Chloe asked.

"Just suddenly felt a desire to…" He paused. " _Never mind!_ "

The two sweethearts began to share another tender kiss. Joe, feeling a sudden desire to do _things_ to Chloe again, ended the kiss and removed his glasses. "Sorry love. With my glasses on, I keep getting strange hormonal sensations from Uncle James' more dubious impulses and memories." For some reason, most of the adults present seemed to be overcome with laughter.

"Thank goodness it wasn't Jack Harkness'!" Roy quipped.

"Well, we should be arriving in Bermuda tomorrow," Diana said, climbing out of the pool. "Back to work!"

Pansy snorted. "For those of us here as cover, that still means sunbathing, right? Hardly hard work!"

"Yes," Ginny agreed. "Sightseeing, swimming and topping up our tans, whilst our other halves do all the work. I like this sort of assignment!"

Dinner that evening was a happy affair. A starter of breaded mushrooms in garlic butter was followed by chicken and ham pie, chips and mushy peas. Bread and butter pudding and custard finished off the meal.

"Exquisite, Kreacher!" Mac complimented the Potters' beloved old house elf.

"No thanks necessary, master," came the croaked reply.

"We shall be stopping off for provisions in Hamilton and Flatts Village en route," Mac commented, "the latter of which has the Bermuda Zoological Society's zoo, museum and aquarium. We could go there for a day. Then we go through the swing bridge at the eastern end of the Causeway. The latter is a road built effectively on a seawall connecting the main island to St David's Island, where the L.F Wade International Airport is located.

"Once through the Causeway, we will be in the large natural harbour, named Castle Harbour after the fortifications that were built on a number of small islands in the entrance to the cave. In the 1600s, Britain was worried about French and Spanish aggression in the region, not to mention piracy."

"Right, Dad," Joe agreed. "The smugglers are known to be working from St David's Island, somewhere near the airport. We shall be looking for a fish processing plant or similar, as the goods were being transported in frozen fish to supposedly disused fish-processing factories in the States."

"So a group of us will scout out likely sites," Harry said. "The rest of you can be normal holidaymakers. Simple!"

For a capital city, Hamilton is small. Although there were barely a thousand permanent inhabitants, it is however a major port and financial and service centre. Indeed, about thirteen times as many people work in the city each day as live there.

There were two outlets of the island chain's principal grocery stores, The MarketPlace, in Hamilton, so they could restock the _Nike._ Once they had arranged for the order to be delivered to the yacht, Clark, Diana and Lois returned to the boat with Lara to await delivery. The others decided to take a walk through the Victoria Park, the largest of the Bermudan capital's unusually large number of parks for such a small city.

It was not unknown for Athena to stroll arm-in-arm with Reuben through parkland or garden. He lived in London's Brownlow Square. London, of course, was also famed for its numerous parks. The Lone Pine Club was still based at the old campsite around the solitary pine tree in the grounds of Witchend, the holiday home of Reuben's late paternal grandparents in rural Shropshire. It was now the home of Reuben's Uncle David and his wife Petronella (but you called her 'Peter' if you wanted to stay alive!) and still 'HQ1' of the Lone Pine Club. There was no shortage of countryside around Witchend and its nearest neighbour, Ingles Farm (Tom Ingles and his wife Jenny, old Lone Piners both, had inherited it from Tom's Uncle Alf and Aunt Betty some years before). As for Athena herself, well, she lived in the royal palace of an island paradise. She could take her One True Love (and she could hear herself even think those words in Henry Mills' voice!) for a walk in her grandmother's gardens anytime he had come through the portal from his parents' house.

The princess smiled, before she led her boyfriend to a park bench and they sat down, his arm draped around her shoulders. "Do you think we'll be fulfilling Rule 5?" she asked.

Reuben chuckled. "Exploring, yes. Watching birds and animals, also yes. Tracking strangers, almost certainly."

On a sheet of old writing paper in a battered sardine tin buried in the shadow of the Lone Pine was a copy of the club rules, of which the fifth set out what the secret society was for. Every member had signed it in blood, swearing "to keep the rules and to be true to each other whatever happens always". Considering the tendency of the members to marry each other, it was felt that oath was very effective! It was also observed that they spent far more time on "tracking strangers" than on watching fauna.

"Good," Athena grinned. "Now, I have another activity in mind."

"This one perchance?" Reuben laughed, before kissing her tenderly.

Meanwhile, the Potter children were playing with a football, supervised by the Potter adults. Roy and Donna were keeping an eye on the teenagers, whilst Joe was treating Chloe and himself to ice cream and Grace and Sappho were following Athena and Reuben's example and kissing on a park bench.

After a while they returned to the _Nike_ for a lamb biryani with garlic naan bread, onion bhajis and poppadoms with a selection of dips. The biryanis were mild to medium, so there was little danger of upset stomachs!

The following day, after a dip in the pool for most of the crew, they arrived near Flatt's Village. The Bermuda Zoological Society ran the Bermuda Zoo, Aquarium and Museum nearby. Whilst it largely catered for smaller species, it still kept the children occupied. Lily, who was clearly going to be petite like her mother, occasionally needed a lift from her beloved Auntie Millie to see into a couple of the enclosures. Again, though, it was time away from the _Nike_.

"Well," Harry commented once they were back on board, "for some of us, it's back to work tomorrow! Any plans?"

"We've prepared a list of possible fish-processing factories to visit," Sam said. "Perhaps one of the adult Potters could assist us? You might be able to check for the runes?"

"I'll go!" Millie announced. "Just in case Wonder Witch is required, of course."

"Oh, Auntie Millie!" Lily piped up. "Is this going to be another bedtime story?"

"Probably not, littl'un. Unless of course you happen to be interested in fish…"

Millie got out of the Jet Air Car with Mac and Joe. Other than being chatted up by a teenager (not that poor Joe could help James Bond's natural tendencies), there was little of interest in anywhere they had been so far. Mac had been supplied by the W.I.N. with the appropriate passes to make it look as if he was a plant inspector for the Bermudan government, who had to bring his son to work with him, as well as his junior associate.

"I can't help but feel something is about to happen," Millie noted.

They entered the factory and produced their passes. Out of the corner of her eye, Millie caught sight of a rune etched into some steel. She nodded to Mac, who would contact the W.I.N. and IADC once they were back on the _Nike_.

Unfortunately, someone noticed the three visitors. "Who are they?" he asked.

"Some sort of government inspection, I think. The kid is the man's son. Presumably off school for Easter. Strange. They all had English accents."

"Probably British expats, not uncommon. Wait, I'm sure I've seen that woman before."

"Who?" asked a new arrival, known to these men, smugglers all, as a British-born wizard.

"That inspector," he was told.

"You must have seen her picture in one of the _Daily Prophet_ we get from Britain. It's Millicent Potter, the blood-adopted sister of Harry Potter, the great war hero. More to the point, she's his archivist in the Auror department, sort of magical policemen. He's effectively the police chief."

"Those wizards who were captured in that disastrous evening in the United States must have alerted the authorities to the use of wizards," one of the smugglers grumbled. "They don't know Savage, the Avenger or," he looked around fearfully, " _the Shadow_? Or those freaks from Gotham City? Heck, it was strange the Hornet attacked our Detroit operation that night. Maybe he's not the gangster he is believed to be, but yet another vigilante? That wingman of his is still someone I would rather not face!"

"They say Potter has his own carnival turn," the wizard said. "Some bird named _Wonder Witch_. She is said to be an Amazon, I think."

"A magical Wonder Woman? That's all we need." The lead smuggler sighed. "You, take a car and tail them to their base. We'll have to keep an eye on them.

"This could be a serious problem. We may need to take drastic action…"


	4. Chapter 4: Rule 5

It was later that day. Mac had arrived back and used the yacht's secure communications relay to contact the authorities. An official raid on the factory would take place the next day. Other than Harry agreeing to lead the Aurors sent from Britain, Canada and the United States, it was decided not to use Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest unless necessary.

Meanwhile, the crew of the _Nike_ were relaxing. Athena was just emerging from the pool, enjoying seeing Reuben eying her bikini-clad form. She dried herself with a towel, before covering herself with a T-shirt and shorts. Joe was gazing out over the deck in an AFC Bournemouth replica kit football shirt and shorts. Chloe was beside him, so Joe had sensibly removed his spectacles. Grace and Sappho had not finished their laps of the pool, regularly meeting up in the middle for kisses. Kara and Donna were topping up their tans on sunbeds, whilst Roy was checking his weapons. Clark and Diana were helping Lois with Lara. Harry, Ginny and the kids were feeding the owls and Millie's cats down in the galley, whilst Kreacher prepared the dinner. Millie and Pansy meanwhile were in a passionate embrace on a sun lounger, Millie in a green bikini (with an underwired top supporting her buxom figure) and Pansy in a blue one.

Joe suddenly started. "That's odd!"

"What is, Joe?" Reuben asked. Like Athena, he had dried himself and had put on T-shirt and sandals, his swim shorts being large enough to not require additional cover.

"That chap over there, he keeps refocusing his binoculars on the _Nike_. Whilst we have some pretty females on deck, I don't think he's supposed to be watching non-feathered birds!"

"Rule 5?" Athena asked.

"Rule 5!" Reuben agreed. "Look after the children, Joe!"

"We'll come with you," Millie announced, putting on shorts, T-shirt and sandals. Pansy was doing the same beside her. "What's rule 5?"

"Tracking strangers, amongst other things!"

The "bird-watcher" turned to another smuggler beside him. "Those two witches seem to be leaving the boat with a couple of the teenagers. Any plans?"

"Let's lead them to that warehouse near the wharf we have put a few of our wizards and a couple of those rune things in. Meanwhile, I'll signal to those two closer to the boat to try and board."

Millie and Pansy followed Athena and Reuben into the warehouse. They had seen the stranger and his companion disappear inside. "You know," Millie noted, "this warehouse seems to be owned by the same people as that factory. There's even a couple of those runes."

" _Expelliarmus!"_ came two simultaneous shouts from behind them. Millie and Pansy, who had both drawn their wands, felt them fly out of their hands. They both turned, to hear two cries of " _Stupefy!_ " and to see a jet of red light apiece hit them. That was the last they saw before blackness overcame them.

Athena and Reuben tried to charge them, but two more wizards Apparated behind them and stunned them also.

The leader of the smugglers smiled. "Take them to the boat and secure them!" he ordered. "Now," he said to other wizards, "do that teleport trick of yours…"

Joe saw his friends go into the warehouse. He picked up his glasses and briefcase. "I'll guard the boat, although I don't see the need…" He heard steps on the gangplank. "That's strange." He put on his spectacles and stared down. Two shotguns were pointed at him.

"Put that briefcase down and put your hands in the air!" barked one of the gunmen.

Joe moved as if he was going to comply, then opened the secret compartment on the case's exterior that contained his W.I.N. automatic and fired twice. Not only was he a crack shot in his own right, but he had the brain-patterns of the best marksman in MI6. A red dot precisely between the eyes of each gunman collapsing lifelessly bore eloquent testimony to that fact.

Having heard the shots (inevitably), Kara and Clark disappeared below decks and emerged as Supergirl and Superman. Diana and Donna also disappeared below and spun themselves into Wonder Woman and Troia. Harry and Ginny came up, wands drawn. Roy also disappeared below deck to put on his Arsenal costume and pick up his longbow, quiver of arrows and other weapons.

"What happened, Joe?" Wonder Woman asked.

"I spotted two people watching the _Nike_. Athena, Reuben, Millie and Pansy followed them into that warehouse." He pointed at it, before pointing at the gangplank. "Those two chaps tried to board us, but I've dealt with them."

"So I see!" Arsenal noted approvingly. "Excellent marksmanship, Joe!"

"Thanks. What do we do now, everyone?"

"We see if the others need assistance!" Harry said firmly.

"Rover!" Wonder Woman called. The robot arrived on deck. "Watch the gangway and contact us via my IADC secure cell phone immediately if anyone approaches."

The warehouse doors had been locked, but that was no problem for Supergirl, who just pulled one of the doors off its hinges.

"Millie?" Harry called. "Pansy? Athena? Reuben?" Reply came there none!

Superman used his X-Ray Vision. "I can't see anyone here, Harry."

"Those look like wands on the floor," Troia noted.

Ginny picked them up. "This is Pansy's," she noted sombrely, "and this one's Millie's".

Harry scanned the area with his wand. "There has been two disarming hexes, four stunners and a number of apparitions and disapparitions in this area over the last hour."

Ginny cast _prior incantatem_ with first Millie's and then Pansy's wands. "Neither has cast a stunner or a disarming hex in some time."

"Well," Wonder Woman noted grimly, "it seems our friends have been abducted, but…"

"This warehouse is owned by the same company as the factory!" Joe added. "I think they recognised Millie yesterday and want to find out what we know."

Millie was awakened. She tried to move, but found her wrists had been zip tied separately to the arms of a heavy chair and her ankles likewise secured to the chair legs. An attempt at speech revealed there was something sticky covering her mouth. Looking around, she saw Pansy, Athena and Reuben also tied to chairs in the same manner and all gagged with duct tape. Presumably this was what covered her own mouth and restricted her to a few muffled grunts. From the sense of movement and a regular splashing sound, she correctly decided that they were on a boat of some kind.

Once all the prisoners were awake, the lead smuggler addressed them. "Once we are closer to our destination, you will tell us what will happen to our operations. For the moment, however, you will remain gagged. We are too close to the shipping lanes to risk a cry for help.

"Enjoy your ride with _Captive Cruises_! It should be an interesting experience!"

Once they were back on the _Nike_ , Harry and Ginny went to notify the children. Given how close the Potter children were to Millie and Pansy, especially Lily, it was correctly felt some comforting may be required.

Joe and Wonder Woman, however, went to the controls and flicked the switch to reveal the hidden control panels. Wonder Woman pressed one with a picture of a Grecian temple on it. "Mother, this is Wonder Woman, repeat…"

"I hear you!" came Hippolyta's voice over the speakers. "What is the problem, Diana?"

"Athena, Reuben, Millie and Pansy have been kidnapped by the smugglers, mother."

" _What!_ "

"I'm calling for assistance! Please use the portal. I'll call some others as well. We'll bring them back alive or else avenge their deaths!"

"I'll come, daughter. Those smugglers will feel my wrath! Over and out!"

Diana pressed buttons with pictures of a bat in flight, a trident, the SHIELD logo, a winged globe and a handful of others. Within seconds, Zatanna Zatara and Wednesday and Pugsley Addams were with her. It was not long before a bat-shaped plane, a SHIELD Quinjet and a convoy of Atlanteans were en route, what appeared to be a 1960s London police box was materialising in the cargo bay and Regina Mills and Emma Swan were leading a Storybrooke war party through the portal to Themyscira, where they joined Hippolyta and an Amazonian one in taking the portal to the _Nike_. Richard and Fenella Morton were informed of their son's disappearance.

The lead smuggler removed the tape from Athena's mouth. "What do you know?"

"You are not a good guy?" She received an open-handed slap to the cheek. "Ow! That just proves my point!" This time the slap was much harder.

"I'll try the, err, larger Mrs Potter!" Millie was ungagged. "Tell us or we hurt your wife!"

"What exactly?"

"Will you raid our factory?"

"What do you think? Yes!" said Athena sarcastically. "Tomorrow, I believe. Then you get your…"

" _Athena!_ " Millie hissed.

"Thank you, you have been most helpful. Now, my men and I will have to discuss what to do with you all. Remove the others' gags. There's no-one to hear any screams!" He laughed as he led his men into another room once Pansy and Reuben were both ungagged.

Millie struggled against her bonds. _I wish I was Wonder Witch right now. With my magic belt, I could hear their plans. Heck, I could break these bloody bonds easily. Well, I won't be able to spin up a vortex anytime soon!_

The leader then re-entered, alongside two wizards with wands at the ready and two muggle gunmen, pistols in hand. One of the wizards looked like a younger version of the leader. "My chief wizard here said that with the runes carved into the boat, four killing curses would not be detected easily. I, however, thought an old muggle method might be a more _amusing_ method of _disposal_. Amusing for us, anyway. I doubt any of you will be laughing!" He gave another peel of mocking laughter.

Wednesday scanned the warehouse. "Do you want us to bring the raid on the factory forward, _mon vieux_?" she asked Harry.

"No thanks, Wednesday," he replied. "I've called in more of the _heavy mob_ and I want them here before we strike." _It also increases the chances of someone wondering why Wonder Witch didn't show up until Millie either escaped or was freed, if everyone else has already been on the scene for some time!_

"Good thinking, Harry!" agreed Pugsley.

Harry grinned. Under those ultra-Goth exteriors were two of the friendliest people he had ever met. Wednesday was one of Lily's two godmothers (Luna was the other) and both siblings were two of the most valued of the "honorary Potters" he and Ginny seemed to accumulate. _The Addamses, Zee, the other Harry, Stephen, Wanda, John, Regina and Emma are an impressive group of sorcerers! Even Will Stanton uses magic of a sort, even if he only calls himself the Watchman or the last of the Old Ones. Add in the various mutants, metahumans, aliens and extraordinary muggles that are in my circle and I have quite the extended family. Well, by blood-rite and marriage, Millie and Pansy are my family and I will not let them down!_

The Doctor, meanwhile, was using his sonic sunglasses to check for technology or radio signals. "No video cameras or listening equipment," he noted, his 'attack eyebrows' giving his stare a fierce look. "It looks as if whatever computer equipment was here has been removed.

"Are the Batplane and the Quinjet…?"

"On their way?" Harry interrupted. "Yes, they should be arriving here shortly, as should the Atlantean contingent."

"Good!"

The boat was docking somewhere. Smugglers and wizards entered, pointing guns and wands at the captives. A couple of smugglers untied them. "Move!" the leader ordered.

"Where are we going?" Millie asked, rubbing circulation back into her limbs.

"Where do you think?" the leader laughed again. "To _your deaths_ , of course!"

"Charming destination!"

"Why?" Athena asked.

"They are _disposing of the evidence_ , dear," Pansy told her. "Am I right?!"

"Of course!"

The four captives were taken onto the deck and down the gangplank. They had been on a luxury yacht now docked in a narrow inlet, a wooden jetty half-hidden by foliage. An old fishing trawler was also moored there. Two winding cables were at the back. By now, the evening was starting to get dark.

"We sometimes use this boat to drag fishing nets containing drugs in waterproof containers," said the leader. "It is perfect for what I have in mind. Tie them up!"

Millie and Pansy were grabbed by the arms and pushed together front-to-front. Their wrists were then tied together tightly with heavy ropes, with Millie's hands bound behind Pansy's back and Pansy's behind Millie's, the two effectively in a tight embrace. Athena and Reuben were tied together in the same way. More heavy rope was tied around each couple's torsos and upper arms, binding them very closely together.

Reuben looked on in horror and disgust as the end of the long heavy rope around the upper bodies of Athena and him was fastened to the left winch and that around Millie and Pansy to the right. " _You monsters!_ "

"What?!" Athena asked.

"They are going to _keelhaul_ us, love. It's an old naval execution, or pirate killing method, in which we will be dragged behind that boat through, over and _under_ the water until we drown, get devoured by marine wildlife or whatever finally kills us."

" _Fiends!_ " yelled Pansy.

"As I said," the leader continued, "far more amusing than bullet or killing curse."

"Your sense of humour is a trifle off!" Millie quipped darkly.

He grinned back at her, before smacking Athena's left upper thigh so sharply that she and Reuben span 360 degrees. "Leave their legs free to help attract predators!" At that, he and the chief wizards and smugglers boarded their yacht and left towards Castle Harbour. Others boarded the trawler and began to start the motors.

"This is it, my beautiful princess," Reuben told Athena.

"No, my handsome Romany, it is only the ending of this part of our story. If we die, we will be together forever in the Elysian Fields. Otherwise, we will be together in this life and beyond. Reuben Richard Morton, I love you. Will you marry me?"

"Of course, yes!" he shouted happily, kissing her deeply.

"Congratulations!" Millie called. She smiled down at Pansy, being somewhat taller. "I never knew it until recently, but ever since we first met, there was only ever one for me!"

"Henry Mills would be so proud of you!" her spouse retorted. "I love you too, Millie, sentimental fool that you are! Now, just kiss me!" Millie obliged at length.

Meanwhile, the trawler was casting off and moved out of the harbour. Once the ropes around the two helpless couples were at full stretch, they were lifted off the jetty and dragged through the air and into the water.


	5. Chapter 5: For Those in Peril

The black bat-themed plane used hydrofoils rather than the usual wheels to land beside the _Nike_ , now anchored in open waters. A second grey-black plane seemed to appear from nowhere and landed using similar floats. Finally, a man in orange and green appeared, riding a humpback whale. Additional help had arrived.

"How can we assist?" the Black Widow asked. She had arrived on the Quinjet with Hawkeye, Captain America and Iron Man. Batman had brought Catwoman, Nightwing and Batgirl with him. Mac, Lois, Kreacher and the Potter children were happy to look after Mary as well as Lara.

"Firstly, by helping us find our missing friends," Harry told them. "Secondly, by assisting in our actions against this smuggling ring."

"You get first refusal on _heart-ripping_!" Regina Mills muttered to Queen Hippolyta.

"Drug smugglers are _scum_!" growled the Dark Knight. "I hate those who prey on the innocent!"

"So we've noticed, my love!" Catwoman purred. He glared at her.

"Tall, dark and grumpy here has a point," Iron Man pointed out. "These are clearly dangerous and they have friends of ours as potential hostages."

"If they have hurt my granddaughter and her boyfriend," Hippolyta promised darkly, "they are in for a world of pain."

"Or my sister and sister-in-law," agreed Harry.

Athena, meanwhile, was being dragged along behind the trawler. _Ordinarily, I would enjoy being in a close embrace with Reuben! It feels like his has been going on for hours, when it can have only been a few minutes of flying into the air, then through the water, then under the water, then back to the surface, then into the air again and so on. These coral reefs are not favoured sites for apex predators, although the Portuguese Men of War have a deadly sting, so I assume we are headed for open waters. So far, a few fish and the odd dolphin are all I've seen! We can't be going to the west of Bermuda, or we would be in the Sargasso Sea. Being choked to death on seaweed would be a horrible way to go! In the open waters to the north, there are great whites and killer whales, if we don't drown first…_

Millie, meanwhile, was trying whenever they dipped well below the waves to find some rock or coral sharp enough to slice through her bonds. As there seemed to be some give in the rope tying her and Pansy together, she could spin in the ropes just enough to get her wrists to the coral, but found herself being yanked back to or above the surface. _Thank Hera that there is some slack to work with. Why, Athena and Reuben turned… Suffering Sappho! Why didn't I think of this before?!_

The next time she and Pansy disappeared under the water, she spun their bodies rapidly to the right. There was enough give to allow them to keep spinning and a vortex enveloped them. A flash of light and thunderclap later and Wonder Witch was dressed in a black version of Wonder Woman's marine costume, a sort of latex wetsuit covering all but her face, over the waist of which was her magic belt. More to the point, the force of the transformation had snapped the bonds from her wrists and upper body, although Pansy's arms were still tied around Wonder Witch's waist. Wonder Witch quickly tied a heavy rock with the towrope and snapped the rock free of its surrounds. She then swam with Pansy to Athena and Reuben, snapped off some coral to first cut the towrope around the younger couple's upper bodies and then secure the coral to the towrope. That done, she sped underwater with the other three around her until she came to one of the many beaches around Bermuda.

Once, they were out of the water, Wonder Witch finally untied Pansy's, Athena's and Reuben's wrists. After a group hug, Wonder Witch kissed Pansy long and deep and then span herself into her usual costume. She then rubbed the Caduceus symbol on her tiara, whilst Athena and Reuben were sharing their own kiss. "I've contacted Diana. She's told me that the _Nike_ is now anchored in open waters off Ruth's Bay Point. We had better leave before they discover our escape. Hold tightly to me, all three of you." Once they were all clinging tightly to her, she flew off, her boots charmed to allow flight by a simple telepathic command.

One of the smugglers on the trawler looked back and saw what they were now towing yanked out of the sea and into the air. "They've somehow escaped or have been rescued!"

"Let's look for them," the skipper ordered. "Meanwhile, I'll radio the boss!"

A search of the area only found traces of rope. The prisoners were nowhere to be found!

Alerted by Diana, there were several people on the deck of the _Nike_ when Wonder Witch landed. The safely returned party were supplied with towels, bathrobes and hot drinks. After that, the Amazons quickly embraced Athena and Reuben, whilst the seven Potters were in a tight group hug.

"What did they do to you all?" Hippolyta demanded after Diana and Millie (now back in her civilian identity) had embraced tightly.

Millie, with help from the others, told her, whilst eating a much-needed hearty supper.

"Those nasty men!" Lily gasped once the tale was finished. "No-one does that to my Aunties!"

"Well, they won't get away with it, littl'un. Tomorrow, they shall face a very angry Wonder Witch!"

"Well," Pansy said simply, "time to give my saviour her reward. Goodnight everyone! It's off to our cabin, love!"

The following morning, Millie was awoken when Whisky and Soda, her two cats, nudged her bare back wanting to be stroked. Pansy was still asleep in her wife's arms, exhausted from the events of the previous day and the heavy love-making that was Millie's 'reward'. _Not that we need an excuse for that!_

Once Pansy had awoken and the couple had attended to their ablutions, they went to the galley. After feeding Whisky and Soda, they sat down at the table where Kreacher had outdone himself with bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, black pudding and grilled tomatoes, alongside toast and marmalade. There was plenty of coffee as well.

"Thank you, Kreacher!" Millie sighed. "I needed that!" She turned to Pansy. "I'll help out with the raid and the search for the yacht today. This evening, it will be a romantic stroll along Clearwater Bay and a swim in the pool."

"Definitely not one in the sea!" Pansy agreed. "I had more than my fair share of the local seawater yesterday, thank you!"

"So, we think they were rescued by some freak or another?" the leader concluded. "Thank goodness we have moved most of the stock out of the factory and warehouse. I'm surprised they haven't raided already!

"More to the point, those two witches and their teen friends know what this yacht looks like. We had better find somewhere to lay low."

"There's plenty of open water around Ruth's Bay Point," someone suggested.

"Right," Harry said. "I'll be meeting the Aurors from the USA, Canada and back home. Ron's amongst the British contingent and Hermione's coming to liaise with the Ministry of Magic officials in Hamilton, all three of them!"

"Poor them!" Ginny commented. "I love her dearly, but she can get carried away a bit once she has started lecturing people on something or other."

The Doctor had found rooms for the extra forces in the Tardis. Now, they were all on deck, those who were metahuman, vigilantes or whatever in costume.

"We all have our working clothes on," Supergirl noted, "so get to it, everyone!"

Wonder Witch kissed Pansy a very thorough goodbye. "Keep her out of mischief, littl'un!"

"I will try, Auntie Wonder Witch!"

Lily dodged Pansy's mock 'swat to the back of the head', before Wonder Witch stooped to embrace her.

The raid started with a strange site in Castle Harbour. Humpback whales, dolphins, porpoises, even Portuguese Men of War, all seemed to enter in array. Aquaman was riding the lead humpback, with a small war party of Atlanteans riding others. They reached the docks by the warehouse and came ashore. Supergirl, Wonder Witch and the Quinjet landed to meet them. Once Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Black Widow had disembarked, they approached the warehouse. The door Supergirl had torn off had not been replaced, so entry was easy. Once they were inside, Wonder Witch contacted Harry, who Apparated in with an Auror squadron.

"Nothing!" Supergirl grumbled.

"Well, we took a lot yesterday," Harry reminded her.

"Indeed, _mon vieux_ ," Wednesday agreed, she and Pugsley being amongst the Aurors. "The no-maj police have caught a few people trying to get back in. They appear to be junior workers for a company called Viper Holdings, run by a couple of people named Mayhem. Apparently, they are nephews of the late Miles Mayhem. Does that name mean anything to any of you, as my sources seemed to be looking around to check that his ghost wasn't appearing?"

"Miles Mayhem," Hawkeye told her, "was a disaffected army officer who stole the plans for an array of ordinary vehicles that could each convert into one or more strike vehicles, as well as masks that had concealed technology. For example, one could spray high velocity jets of corrosive acid, another had a flamethrower, yet another was a powerful electromagnet and so on. He gathered a group of thugs, thieves and forgers and assembled the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem, VENOM for short. They were opposed by a group of agents also with transforming vehicles and powered masks, called the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, the last word spelt with a 'K'. MASK were quite the force back in the 1980s, until VENOM fell apart. Mayhem and a couple of the others were killed in a heist that went wrong, another was imprisoned, two others vanished and the only woman changed sides and married a MASK agent, or so I heard.

"Miles Mayhem was a nasty piece of work. If his nephews were cut from the same cloth, they could be dangerous!"

"Trust me, they are!" Wonder Witch said with some feeling.

Pugsley produced a magic mirror and contacted the MACUSA Auror Department. "Hi, Sam! Can you check to see if there are any records of a muggle-born or half-blood named Mayhem studying at Hogwarts, Ilvermorny or a similar wizard school over the last twenty years or so? Thank you."

When the Batplane, Superman, the Invisible Jet and the Jet Air Car all landed by the factory, the Tardis was materialising nearby. Hippolyta and her guard, plus Regina Mills and Emma Swan had come with the Doctor and Arsenal and Zee joined Wonder Woman and Troia in the jet. Once Wonder Woman had torn off a door, the group went in. A mirror call to Ron from Zee was quickly followed by Aurors arriving.

This time, they found some small-fry smugglers and some drugs, although the main stocks had been taken in a fishing trawler or a large luxury yacht, the latter of which was white with red trimmings.

"That sounds like the vessel that kidnapped our friends!" Arsenal commented. Indeed, the _Python_ , as the yacht was called, was the boat in question. "That trawler must be the one that was used for the unsuccessful keelhauling."

"Luckily for the smugglers!" Troia commented. "Like the _other_ Bruce, you won't like us Amazons when we are angry!"

"Say, boss," said a smuggler on the _Python_ , "isn't that the yacht our escapees were on?"

Malcolm Mayhem looked through his binoculars and nodded. "Indeed! Let's get some revenge for the loss of our operations here and in the States. Prepare to attack!"

"Lois!" Rover II intoned. "Sensors detect a vessel approaching with possible hostile intent."

Reuben used his binoculars. "It's that yacht we were imprisoned on!"

Mac ran into the control room and flicked the hidden switch. He then moved to the weapons' controls. "Battle stations!" he called, sounding the alarm.


	6. Chapter 6: Standby for Action!

Pugsley put down his mirror, after MACUSA had returned his call. "There was a Michael Mayhem who attended Ilvermorny about twenty years ago. He was a muggle-born, who is currently believed to be helping his elder brother Malcolm with his maritime businesses, based in Bermuda and the Caribbean proper. Their father was younger than Miles Mayhem by a number of years, apparently. No-one at MACUSA or Ilvermorny back then paid much attention to muggle criminality, so quickly lost track of Michael after he graduated and went to work for an offshore family business."

Harry's own mirror vibrated. He answered. "Hi, Pansy! What's up?"

"Apparently, the yacht from yesterday had the same idea as Mac and Sam about Ruth's Bay Point. We may be under attack!

"We should be able to defend ourselves, but back-up would be appreciated, Harry."

"We're on our way! Call Ron now! Help Ginny protect the kids. See you soon!"

Harry and Wonder Witch held onto Supergirl's arms before the former activated his portkey to the _Nike_. Wednesday and Pugsley followed suit with theirs, whilst the other Aurors returned to their assembly point. The SHIELD team returned to the Quinjet and took off for Ruth's Bay Point and the Atlanteans returned to their flotilla of marine wildlife and headed for the same destination.

"What's that yacht doing?" Malcolm Mayhem asked.

"It seems to be turning away from us," his younger brother told him, "at some speed."

"Dispatch the speedboat with a boarding party!" Malcolm ordered his crew.

A speedboat was lowered by a winch into the water, with two muggles and two wizards getting into the boat. Another couple of wizards tried to Apparate on to the _Nike_ , but were repelled by the wards.

"Two muggles with large firearms and two wizards with drawn wands approaching in a speedboat," Ginny reported. "They are approaching our aft."

Mac grinned and reached for the control panel. "This should slow them down!"

A section of the lower aft of the _Nike_ opened and lowered to form a ramp into the sea. The topside of this ramp had a series of ten channels, down each of which, at another button pressed by Mac, a nautical mine slid into the sea. A further row of mines was automatically slid into position in case they were needed.

As it happened, the speedboat, unable to slow down in time, barged straight into one of the mines and was blown to smithereens. There was not enough time to abandon ship or for the wizards to Apparate away.

Mac closed the mine compartment door with a smile of grim satisfaction.

"Half a dozen wizards approaching on brooms!" Pansy called.

"Time to get airborne, sis!" Harry called, summoning his broom. Once it arrived, he mounted and took to the skies. Wonder Witch flew into the sky behind him. Meanwhile, Mac opened three concealed hatches in the deck. From one, the flying scout emerged, from the other two anti-aircraft cannons were raised. The latter were not needed, as killing curses from Harry dealt with three, Wonder Witch's tiara knocked two more off their brooms unconscious and doomed to drown in the waters below and the last flew straight into aerial mines dropped by the scout.

Seeing no more aerial forces approaching, Harry and Wonder Witch returned to the _Nike_. Mac used the remote controls to return the scout to its compartment and lowered the cannons.

"I wish Uncle Miles had designed this boat!" Malcolm Mayhem grumbled. "Being able to turn the _Python_ into some sort of battleship would have been ideal against that thing!"

"Well, one thing for it! We have to try and get away!"

"They are heading away!" Pansy called.

"Well, they won't get far!" Mac retorted, activating another control. Two hatches opened in the stern, revealing the _Nike_ 's torpedo tubes. He activated the guidance system, locked the target as the _Python_ and launched both pre-loaded torpedoes. They shot from the tubes, hit the water and sped towards their target. The first torpedo took out the propeller and the second the rudder.

"We're not going anywhere!" Malcolm Mayhem sighed.

"There's somethings on the radar, boss!" one of the muggle smugglers informed him.

Malcolm looked up. He saw a Quinjet, the Batplane, three forms in what was obviously the Invisible Jet and the Jet Air Car (not that he knew how the car he saw two days earlier was airborne). Superman and Supergirl were flying alongside the aircraft.

The Tardis materialised on the deck of the _Nike_. As the Doctor emerged, Harry, Ron, Wonder Witch, Zee, Wednesday and Pugsley came running up.

"Take us to the _Python_ please, Doctor," Wonder Witch asked.

"You can fly, pudding brain! Still, since I am apparently now a taxi driver for bone idle metahumans, welcome on board!"

Seconds later, the Tardis arrived on the deck of the _Python_. By this time, the aircraft were virtually overhead and the Atlantean convoy was rapidly approaching.

It was a spectacular boarding assault, whilst it lasted. Wonder Witch was like a woman possessed, using her hoplon as a battering ram, cutting and stabbing with her sword and using her Caduceus Wand in her other hand to fire curses and hexes as fast as she could think of them. Harry was also in creative mode with the curses, as was Ron. Wednesday and Pugsley were a deadly double act, with wands, conjured swords and even gesturing with hands and twitching noses. Iron Man, meanwhile, had flown out of the Quinjet's opening hatch and used his disruptors to take out the two muggles with machine guns that were the only heavy artillery he could see. As Hawkeye lowered the Quinjet closer to the deck, Cap leapt out and charged into the smugglers, knocking people down with his shield or his enhanced strength punches. The Black Widow followed him, using her twin automatics and the famed Widow's Bites' to lethal effect. Supergirl was little more than a red and blue blur, rushing around the yacht, sending muggle and wizard smugglers alike flying in all directions. Sam landed the Jet Air Car on the deck. He and Joe climbed out and got to work with their automatics. Meanwhile, Catwoman piloted the Batplane over the deck, as Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl descended. With fists, legs, heads and whatever mayhem-inducing items they could find in their utility belts, they quickly proved a handful.

"Troia, take control of the jet, please," Wonder Woman asked. "Arsenal, cover me with arrows." At that, she jumped out of the plane and landed on the deck. She used sword, shield, arms and legs to fight her way to where Hippolyta was fighting in the same manner. The Doctor, who had brought over the queen, Regina Mills and Emma Swan in the Tardis, had fought his way over to the main computer terminals on the yacht and was using his sonic sunglasses to hack the system.

Talking of Storybrooke's finest, they were fighting in their inimitable fashion. Bickering and bantering happily with each other, whilst dealing out death and destruction left, right and centre. Since the two had first befriended Wednesday and Harry when they had helped defend Storybrooke from a Home Office incursion nearly three years earlier, they had learnt from them ways to use magic outside of Storybrooke.

"Shame Belle was unavailable!" Regina moaned. "I had to delegate control of Storybrooke to your idiotic mother, Swan!" Her complaining didn't distract her from tearing out a couple of smuggler's hearts and crushing them to powder.

"Could be worse, Regina," Emma fired back, shooting one wizard smuggler dead with her pistol in one hand and incinerating another with a conjured fireball thrown from her other. "It could have been Whale or even Gold…"

"That's not something I even want to _think_ about, Emma!" _One thing you can say about Emma Swan is that she is what those two imbeciles should have been…_

Wonder Woman was fighting fiercely. Her arms were currently a blur, as a smuggler had produced a machine pistol from somewhere. There were bullets flying off her bracelets in all directions! The gunman gave a yelp of pain, however, as his weapon melted in his hands. He looked up and saw the unmistakeable figure of Superman overhead. Taking his eyes off Wonder Woman was a mistake, as a haymaker knocked him out cold.

"Thanks, love!" she called.

"No problem!" came the reply from her husband. He landed and the two metahumans started what was effectively a ballet so choreographed were their actions. Since her sister, his cousin, Thor and the Hulk (on a bad day!) were their only rivals in terms of strength, this was an unbeatable combination. If she put her shield in front of her face, crouched low and charged the hapless smugglers, they found themselves being herded into range of his fists. Other times, he would lift her and swing her in a 180-degree arc, the flat of her sword smashing into four of five opponents in quick succession. It may have been overkill, but, after what these people had tried to do to Athena and the others, their sympathy was in short supply.

"How come these guys never seem to run out of henchmen?!" Batgirl pondered, karate chopping a wizard's wand out of his hand before head-butting him out cold.

"Perhaps this vessel is a Tardis?!" Nightwing quipped, leaping to kick another wizard smuggler in the throat.

" _Eci ot ria!_ " Zee commanded, causing the deck to ice just as a couple of muggle smugglers attempted to attack her. She then jumped out of the way as they slid into two more.

Batman was hurling a batarang to knock out one foe, whilst delivering a solid uppercut to a foe's jaw. Aquaman had leapt of his humpback onto the deck and was using his trident to devastating effect to the Dark Knight's left. "This is great sport, Batman!"

"Sport, no! Work, yes!" came the reply.

"You are no fun; you know that?!"

Malcolm and Michael Mayhem lowered a motorised lifeboat into the sea. "We won't win this one!" Malcolm yelled. "Abandon ship!"

Seeing them trying to flee, Wonder Witch turned to Harry. "The Mayhems are trying to escape. Fancy a lift, Harry?"

"You bet!" he agreed, holstering his wand and clinging on to his sister. She flew up and landed on the departing lifeboat. "Leaving so soon, chaps?!" she asked the Mayhems rhetorically.

Michael tried casting any curses he could think of at his foes. Harry's shield charm protected them against the lesser ones, Wonder Witch's bracelets deflected the more lethal ones. Malcolm tried his automatic, but Wonder Witch's bracelets could deflect those as well as Wonder Woman's or Troia's could. She drew her Caduceus wand and a quick silent disarming hex sent the pistol flying, dislocating Malcolm's trigger finger as it did so.

Michael grinned. "Time to finish you off." He pointed his wand at one of the mines Mac had released when stopping the speedboat. This was one of the unexploded ones. " _Accio_ mine!"

Wonder Witch and Harry holstered their wands, then she grabbed him and flew off. Michael cursed in the other sense of the term, before he finally cottoned on to what his elder brother was shouting at him. He cancelled the charm, but too late! The mine landed in the lifeboat, exploded and blew the Mayhem brothers to kingdom come.

"That was almost too good for them!" Wonder Witch grumbled.

"After what they tried to do to you and Pansy, I quite agree! Back to the _Python_? There may be some mopping-up to do…"

As it happened, the mopping-up required was pretty limited. Pugsley had already arranged for the Auror parties to come on board the _Python_ and take the surviving wizard smugglers into custody in the States. A SHIELD clean-up team, radioed by Hawkeye, had come to collect the muggle ones, also for detention in the States pre-trial.

It was later that day. The _Python_ had been towed away. Hippolyta had given Athena a stern talking-to about going after suspected narcotics smugglers and Reuben had suffered a similar lecture by Skype from his parents. "Remember, son," Richard told him, "we went after forgers, thieves and hoodlums, even the odd spy, but not drug smugglers. They tend to be a job for professionals, not amateurs still too young to buy alcohol or vote!"

"Sorry, Dad, Mum!" He looked up. "Athena and I are having an engagement party on Themyscira on Saturday evening. Will you…?"

"Of course, we will," Fenella assured them. Like most of the Club, the Mortons' were churchgoers. They were born into a Britain when Christianity was still practised by a majority of the population, instead of barely thought of outside of the school nativity play each Christmas. Sometimes, the pagan practices of Themyscira baffled them. Still, they liked Hippolyta, Diana, Drusilla, Donna and Athena well enough, being pleased when the last-named had quickly won their son's heart. Just don't expect them to dance naked or sacrifice oil to one or more goddesses. They were raised in the days of Moral Re-armament, not the rise in paleo-paganism inspired as part of the so-called New Age Movement.

Reuben grinned. "The ceremonial aspects are quite tame, although you will get to see quite a lot of Hippolyta…"

Richard sighed. "For a lady of some thirty-five centuries, she looks almost as beautiful as your mother, I suppose."

"Keep that up, darling," Fenella smiled, "and I might try a naked dance for you tonight!"

" _Mum!_ "

"Yay for Daddy and Auntie Millie!" Lily exulted. "I get a bedtime story tonight!"

"Can you remember when you didn't have to be kidnapped and keelhauled by drug smugglers just to provide your niece with a bedtime story?" Pansy commented drily.

"That nasty man is dead now, Auntie Pansy," Albus commented.

"I know, Al, thank Hera!"

"Well," Hermione claimed excitedly, "I have advised the Bermudan Ministry officials on at least twenty ways in which they can improve their detection of magical criminality."

Ron groaned. "Why do I get the feeling you are about to go through them all in minute detail?"

The coterie of adventurers had decided to stay overnight to recharge their batteries. Even Batman had been _persuaded_ (i.e. threatened by an infuriated Catwoman with two weeks of sleeping on the couch!) to stick around, although he insisted on the four "Bats" staying in costume (after all, there were a handful of people present who didn't know their civilian identities). After a short, romantic walk on the beach along Clearwater Bay, they had a barbecue on the deck of the _Nike_.

"Back to Storybrooke tomorrow!" Emma sighed. As Killian and Henry had joined her and Regina, she was in a good mood regardless.

"At least you won't have to deal with what Snow's complete inability to use common sense, logic or street smarts has done to Storybrooke!"

"What could she do in two days, Mom?" Henry asked.

"Your grandma? Burned the whole town to ashes probably!"

"More burgers and rum?!" Killian offered.

"As long as Henry sticks to soft drinks, I agree," Emma answered. "Regina?"

"I'll have a red wine with Hippolyta, but thanks for the offer."

Tony Stark was unsurprisingly sticking to soft drinks. Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton (with their identities all widely known) were with him.

"Good to see the back of those smugglers," Steve said. "They were nasty!"

"My dad was involved in the creation of MASK," Tony replied, "so two less Mayhems in the world is not a bad result!"

"Are there any more Mayhems who might try and reform VENOM, Tony?"

"No idea, Tash. Clint?"

"No, but they are fools if they do. With all the mutants, metahumans, wizards, aliens and goodness only knows what else around these days, they wouldn't stand a chance. Might be worth forming a new MASK though, Tony."

"I'll look into it. Dad's old blue-prints are around somewhere."

"Here is a memory stick of the files I downloaded from the smugglers' computers, Diana," the Doctor said, handing it to her. "The IADC might be able to do something with them."

"Thank you, Doctor. Rover!" The robot came up and Diana plugged in the memory stick.

"Transfer of data to IRAC II in progress. Back-up saved to my hard drives. Full report estimated to be available in two hours."

"Call that a robot dog? K-9 Mark I was more advanced!"

" _Doctor!_ "


	7. Chapter 7: Home is Themyscira

The next morning, all the goodbyes were said by the additional forces. Regina led her people back to Themyscira and then Storybrooke via the portals. The Batplane took off for Gotham City and Aquaman led his Atlanteans back to Atlantis.

Tony Stark was surprised to see the Doctor present him with an A4 manila envelope. "What's this?"

"A list of potential MASK agents," the Doctor replied, "based on the recommendations of the Peaceful Nations' Alliance, who started the original. Whilst I don't know for certain, as it isn't a fixed point in 'Time, I do get the feeling that they might be needed."

Tony looked over the names. "Good to know the designer is still Japanese and the I.T. guy British."

The Doctor snorted. "I know Bruce Sato and Alex Sector. Good people, even if the former seemed to have learned English by reading fortune cookies and the latter spent far more time in his youth with John Steed than was healthy."

"John Steed's a good man," Steve Rogers pointed out.

"He is. I like him, although _good_ doesn't always mean _nice_ when it comes to secret agents. What I meant is that Alex still speaks as if he was a 1930s public school boy. Apart from saying 'Com-and', rather than 'Co-mand', as if he was really Canadian or something…"

Once the Quinjet had departed, the Doctor took his own leave of the party. "Goodbye, everyone. See you all next crisis!"

"We do seem to meet up at such times," Kara agreed. "Isn't that your legend, Doctor? 'Whenever he turns up…'"

"…All hell breaks loose!" he finished.

Clark grinned. "I can almost see why humans are uneasy about us aliens. Zod, Faora, Missy, the Kree, the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Greys and so on hardly show us in a flattering light. They all seem to conquer or abduct for research purposes…"

"Or to set abductees weird logic puzzles and computer game challenges," the Doctor interjected. "Do you remember the Rangdo from Arg, and his shape-shifting humanoid dragons the Argonds? Mad, but strangely enjoyable. If you didn't get evaporated, anyway!"

By this time, everyone else had decided to stop listening for the sake of preserving their sanity. After this, he said his goodbyes and left in the Tardis.

Wednesday finished her mirror call to MACUSA's Auror Department. "They have finished with the interrogations of the surviving wizards. Pretty much all muggle-borns, unable to get decent jobs due to blood-purity concerns in the wizard world and no qualifications in the muggle.

"So along come the Mayhem brothers offering reasonably well-paid, but relatively straight-forward, work as enforcers. Finding an expert in runes who was unable to get work in Britain, due to his blood-status was a huge stroke of luck for them. They would have still been undetected, if not for one of their gangster friends shooting a man outside of the Cobalt Club last month."

"According to Steve," Diana commented, "there was plenty on the so-called 'hangmen' in the files the Doctor downloaded from the _Python_ 's computer. The muggle agencies are dealing with them as we speak."

"So we can be on our way now, sis, Zee," Pugsley finished.

"Just a moment, bro!" Wednesday suddenly pulled Ginny in for a passionate kiss and then did the same with Harry. " _Au revoir_ , _mes amours!_ " She then winked at them both, before port-keying away with her brother and Zee.

"Well," Ginny said stunned, "next time we see her, we might just take her up on her three-way offer!"

"Jack's never tried just snogging us senseless!" her husband agreed. He pulled her close to him. "Now, talking of snogging someone senseless…" He proceeded to do just that!

" _Mum! Dad!_ " groaned Albus and James in unison.

"Does this mean I might get to call Auntie Wednesday Mummy Wednesday?" Lily wondered aloud. "Or would it be Mommy Wednesday?"

Millie and Pansy were too busy laughing to comment. Once they had finished doing that, they decided they would not be performing their duties as aunts unless they subjected their nephews to the sight of two more adults kissing. That was their excuse anyway, and they were sticking to it. Rose and Hugo began to snicker, then turned around to find Ron and Hermione lip-locked and tongue-tied as well…

It was three days later. Today was Easter Saturday. Whilst they had bought Easter Eggs for each other and the children, neither Harry nor Ginny were particularly religious. Millie had a shrine to the Six Goddesses of Themyscira in her and Pansy's apartment in the loft, but that was about as devout as the Potters got! Hermione was a practising Anglican, Dean was a Pentecostal and Padma and Parvati were both devout Hindi, but otherwise, Harry's circle was pretty much secularised. Whilst he got on well enough with Anthony Goldstein, he wouldn't claim to be particularly close to him. Seamus had occasionally mentioned going to Mass, but, as far as Harry knew, only went once in a blue moon.

The Temple of the Six Goddesses was packed for Athena and Reuben's engagement ceremony. Queen Hippolyta was leading it in her usual ritual attire, which was no attire at all. Richard and Fenella were looking a little uncomfortable. Whilst the Romany Fenella was happy dancing around a bonfire, her family were more Roman Catholic than Pagan. Writhing around the fire naked and in ecstasy was out of her comfort zone, and a long way outside of Richard's. Still, it was strangely moving and Hippolyta was a strikingly beautiful figure for all her millennia.

Hippolyta called Athena and Reuben to the front. Her granddaughter was flattered by the traditional short white dress, long sandals and laurel wreath and Reuben was handsome in tunic, cloak, sandals and laurel wreath. They joined hands in front of the altar and announced that they wanted to seek the Goddesses' blessings for their betrothal. Hippolyta sought the Goddesses' input, announced their approval and passed on their blessings. The newly-betrothed couple shared a long kiss and followed Hippolyta out of the temple.

"That was beautiful and _so_ romantic!" Henry said. "You know, we never had such a ceremony when we made it official."

Ava Zimmer, his fiancée, turned to him. "Yes, it would be great. Regina…?"

"If you think I am gyrating completely naked like a bitch in heat before a mixed audience, young lady…"

"You're getting as grouchy as Batman!" Mary Margaret Blanchard told her.

"You wouldn't either, idiot!"

"I can't see the Blue Fairy doing it either," Killian Jones pointed out, hastily ending the conversation.

"What are your plans, Millie?" Diana asked.

"Spend a couple of nights on Potter Island, Diana, topping up our tans and being in the sea without a nutcase trying to use us as fish bait! After that, portkey back home. Pansy's going to be having IVF treatment, with Harry as the sperm donor. Hopefully, we'll be parents in a year or two."

"That would be wonderful, Millie!" The two friends and Sister-Amazons embraced tightly. "Clark and I are trying to conceive a sibling for Lara!" Although Lois was Lara's biological mother, Clark, Lois and Diana had agreed that all three of them would be equally parents to all their children, regardless of which womb bore them. "Your little one can be playmates with ours if all goes well."

"That would be great! Now, to persuade Harry, Ginny and Pansy to have a romantic, sky-clad midnight swim off Potter Island tonight."

"What a good idea! I must take Clark and Lois back to _our_ island for the same.

"Not much point of living in paradise, if you can't go around naked."

"Well, at least this time there are no serpents in it!"

Reuben drew Athena close and the couple kissed, the celebrations of that evening almost done. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"My maternal grandmother Miranda could read palms, tea-leaves and the like," Reuben told her. "She promised my Auntie Peter that she would find her heart's desire and she did. Well, before she passed on, she told me I would find my true paradise. Funny, that."

"Why?"

"A beautiful paradise island with a stunning native girl _is_ my true paradise. Home is Themyscira!"

Author's Note

The usual thanks to fellow author Model Builder for his advice and encouragement.

I hope you enjoyed this story.


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